Love Never Dies
by Questic
Summary: Conan and friends end up in the middle of what seems to be a man's messy relationship.
1. Chapter 1

Detective Conan characters are the intellectual property of Gosho Aoyama.

* * *

Conan walked slowly behind his friends as they left school for the day. The sun was shinning brightly above them with not a single cloud in the sky. It had been a shame that they were made to spend any time at all inside. The children ahead of him were chatting cheerfully about what they were planning to do for the rest of the day.

Mitsuhiko was slightly ahead of the rest of the group, leading them slowly away from the school. His tone was cheerful, as always. Of the children, he was definitely the brightest. If Conan hadn't been around, he probably could have solved some of the easier cases they had faced on his own.

"Maybe we can go to the park and practice soccer?" He suggested. "We do have a game coming up soon."

"I don't care what we do," Ayumi replied, smiling wistfully. Her wide eyes sparkled with her exuberant innocents. " I just want to be able to spend time outside. It's been so beautiful out!"

Genta's stomach rumbled loudly, interrupting their conversation. Everyone stopped and looked toward at him. "Can we stop and get food first? I'm hungry, and there's a place not far from here that has great eel. Please?"

"Genta, food is all you think about," Mitsuhiko said. "We can't play on a full stomach like that. It would make you sick."

"But I'm hungry!"

Conan smirked slightly and laughed to himself. _Genta, you are reliable as ever._

He worried about Genta deeply. His insatiable hunger was destined to lead to future issues if he did not take care of himself properly. If he had not always been willing to play football with them, he would have been more concerned. As long as he stayed relatively active, he would be okay, for now at least.

The group moved slowly down the road, chatting joyfully among themselves, though it wasn't quite a stimulating enough conversation to hold his attention. Instead, Conan was lost in thoughts, only vaguely hearing what else they were saying. Relating to peers had always been an issue for him. He'd never truly understood other children, even when he was on of them. They were foolish and had no idea of how the world worked. It was frustrating to see how naive they were. At least now that he was older he was able to pretend to be the same as those in his class.

Despite being able to act the the youth that he was surrounded by each day, he wanted to regain his former life. Being stuck as a child, while being a humbling experience, was not anything he wanted anymore. He was desperate to find the Black Organization and bring them to justice for all of their crimes. It was exhausting hiding who he was from the people he cared about, especially from Ran. The first thing he planned to do was tell her everything and how sorry he was. He knew that if he could only find them, that everything would go back to normal.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, pausing his thoughts. _Shinichi, when am I going to see you again? There's so much that I want to talk to you about, preferably in person. Please?_

Ran...

 _Soon._

He wanted to get back to himself so that they could go back to normal. Yet, there was a nagging feeling in him that would rise up periodically: maybe he was doomed to be stuck in this body.

I _can't think like that. I'm going to get back to my life. I_ have _to get back to my life._

"Why so quiet today, Kudo-kun?" Haibara asked in a low tone, causing him to jump. He was so absorbed in his thought process that he had forgotten that she was there beside him. She always tended to be the strong, silent type. She understood him in a way that no one else could. Being stuck in the bodies of children with the minds of adults seemed to be a bonding experience.

"I was just thinking..." was all he was able to get out before he was cut off.

A blood curdling scream came from a nearby street, stopping the group in their tracks. The pitch of it made it impossible to determine if it was a male or female that the sound had come from. _This can't be good._

Instinctively, Conan began running in the direction of the sound, the echo of four pairs of feet following closely behind him. He was hoping that he would be able to find whoever had yelled out quickly. In his experience, anyone who made that noise would surely be near a case. At this point he hoped that he wasn't too late.

He skidded around a corner and came to a halt so suddenly that his friends collided into him, almost causing him to fall to the ground. A young woman was collapsed on a second floor apartment walkway, tears streaming from her eyes with her hand over her mouth. She was staring across from her, eyes full of terror. He quickly got to his feet and raced next to the woman, stopping in front of an open door.

Conan made his way into the quiet corner unit apartment. It looked like any other apartment. It wasn't dirty, just disorganized. There was a jacket thrown over a hook, and a shirt that was lying next to a basket of what appeared to be mixed clothing in a small closet. The walls were adorn with photos of a young man and woman in different locations. One was a photo at the beach, the sky shades of orange and purple as a backdrop. There was another that was from what must have been the peak of a mountain with lush green trees sprawling on the hills behind them.

A gust of wind blew through the home as he moved his way deeper. There was a table next to the bathroom with two sets of keys on it along with what looked a little like drywall. He could see a pair of motionless legs sticking out from the doorway not much farther away. He figured must have been a bedroom. The legs belonged to a man he estimated was in his mid 20's. He was the same man in all of the photos, though the clear difference was the man in the pictures did not have a rope wrapped around his throat, while this one did.

He crept forward and check the man for a pulse, however there was none to be found.

"Haibara," he said in a stern voice, looking back at his group of friends that had followed him in, "call the police."

"Okay," she said curtly before turning and walking from the apartment.

He turned his attention back to the on the man laying laying on the ground. It didn't look like the man had struggled against his attacker. If there had been a fight, the attacker must have put the room back to the way it was, which he highly doubted happened. There were no apparent scratch marks from him attempting to free himself the the rope that was choking him, increasing the unlikelihood that the man had fought back.

There was a sliding glass door that lead to a balcony, but that was locked from the inside. When the police arrived he would take more time to look into it. Instead,Conan made his way out of the room and over to the open window. It looked to drop straight down into a parking lot. It would be possible to jump, but the person would have to be on the smaller side, and most likely end up hurt and not being able to get away smoothly.

As he exited the apartment, he looked at the door frame. It did not appear to be damaged in any way, meaning the person had a key or was let in. _He must have known his assailant._

The woman who screamed was still on the ground, leaning against the rail where they had found her. He noted that there were tears in her eyes but no noise now coming from her. In his experience, most people who were the first to come across a scene like this were in a state of shock, but also tended to be the ones that were guilty. They were the first on scene so that the victim would be found by their terms. He would have to continue to watch her closely.

"Ma'am, are you okay? Have you been hurt?" he asked, feigning childhood innocence with his sincere concern.

She looked up, startled, finally realizing that she was not alone. It took her a moment to compose herself to answer. "I'm okay. I wasn't hurt or anything."

"Do you know who this man is?"

"Yes, he is my ex-boyfriend, Hironaka Nobuo."

"So, he lives here?"

"Yes. I came over because he called me and asked me to."

He nodded, but decided not to push the woman for more information at the time. Instead, he slowly turned, taking in every aspect of his surroundings. People were starting to make their way towards where her screaming had originated. They looked baffled, as though violence was unheard of in their quiet area. Some of the neighbors in the apartments came out as well.

While the bystanders were worth a second look, Conan was unable to help noticing the doors that failed to open. A few doors stayed firmly shut, which was probably due to the occupants being out, though one of the homes did draw his interest. No one came out of the apartment next to the victims, but he swore that one of the curtains fluttered and the flash of a face was briefly in view.

Within minutes the sound of sirens approached and he was sure that Inspector Megure would be with the investigation team that was about to show up. While he was a capable man, the Inspector was always willing to take help when it was offered.

Conan just hoped that the Inspector would come alone...

"Brat! What are you doing here?" came a familiar voice of anger and hand to the back of his head. There was no need for him to look behind him to know that it was Mouri Kogoro. "Did you hear sirens and run to the scene like you always do?"

"Conan-kun and his friends are the ones that alerted us to the incident here today," Inspector Megure answered for him, allowing Conan to just smile and nod.

 _At least with him here he can be used to reveal the perpetrator of this assault,_ Conan thought to him self, smirking a little.

"Well, just stay out of his way while we investigate, got it?" Mouri said, lifting Conan by the scruff of his neck and roughly moving him away from the unconscious man.

"When do I ever get in the way?" he said, receiving glares from Mouri.


	2. Chapter 2

Mouri and Inspector Megure were discussing the scene from inside the apartment away from prying ears. Conan figured it was to keep him from getting in the way, though from what he heard it was nothing more than what he had already figured out. Instead, he focused his attention towards the current line of questioning towards the woman who was still shocked, though now she was on her feet.

"Ma'am, what's your name?" Detective Takagi asked, beginning his line of questioning towards the woman as the ambulance pulled away with the man in it. He was using a gentle voice with the distressed woman. One of his gifts was being able to talk with witnesses calmly or sternly when needed, and was more than capable of being able to determine what tone to use at what times.

"It's Kamiya Misaki," she responded, voice was shaky and weak.

"When did Hironaka-san contact you?"

"He called me this morning and said that he wanted to talk. Apparently he had something important that he needed to talk to me about and that he wanted to explain what happened between us, not that there was much to explain."

"Did he end the relationship with you?"

"No, I ended it with him. He wasn't the type to stay committed to one woman. I wanted something more, so I walked away. Honestly, I didn't really care about what he had to say. He still had some of my things here and I wanted them back. That's the reason that I came today. "

As he took a moment to write this down, he felt himself receive a message on his phone and looked to see that it was Ran. _Shinichi! We need to talk soon. I miss you..._

He flushed, always slightly embarrassed when she would be even the slightest bit vulnerable to him, and put his phone back into his pocket quickly. He had hoped that no one saw his fluctuation in mood; but he wasn't that lucky. Haibara caught the look and walked over, disapproval in here eyes.

"Who was that Edogawa-kun?" she asked, though it seemed like she may already know. "Normally, you wouldn't get so flustered in the middle of a case."

"Shut up."

She snickered. "Anyway, what were you going to tell me earlier?"

"I was thinking about the antidote, but it can wait until we're alone."

She nodded, saying not more.

"How long ago did the relationship end?" asked, bringing his attention back to the case.

"A month or so."

"And he was already deceased when you arrived."

"Apparently," she snapped, an off look flashing over her eyes. As though realizing her mistake, she quickly changed the look to fear, tearing up a bit. "I didn't know that he was dead. It's not like I checked his vital signs. I saw him on the floor and I yelled while trying to get out of there as fast as I could. The children here can confirm that."

 _Was it my imagination that she was angry? Is it because she is being questioned as a suspect? Something_

Ayumi moved towards Misaki, hand outstretched in an attempt to comfort her.

"Don't be mean to her, Takagi-san!" she shouted, very defensive of the kind looking woman. She then moved in front of her before finishing, "She's been through a lot. Just be nice to her."

Mitsuhiko and Genta both joined Ayumi in front of the woman, creating a small, protective barrier around her. The woman smiled softly attempting to convey gratitude towards the child, but something seemed off about the look. Instead of seeing someone that was thankful to have someone defending her, it was a look of smugness. It was only for a split second, but it was there. She looked pleadingly at the detective, who gave a slight nod and went back towards the inspector.

"Ma'am, how did you get into the apartment today?" Conan inquired. It was one of the questions that the detective and inspector had yet to ask her. Inspector Megure heard him and seemed suddenly interested. "Was the door unlocked? It didn't seem like you had to force your way in."

Mouri walked over, chested puffed a little out. "I told you not to interfere with this!" he said, shoving Conan out to the way.

"It was locked when I got here," she answered, looking at him despite him now being further away. "I asked the landlady to open the door for me so I could wait inside. She remembered me and let me in at once."

 _Maybe it wasn't her..._


	3. Chapter 3

"I live down there! What do you mean that I can't go down there? What is going on?"

Conan turned and looked over rail to see a woman yelling where the police had set up their perimeter around the crime scene. He could see that the police who were entrusted to protect the area were beginning to become frazzled with the woman who was yelling at them. She was drawing attention to herself, not just from the crowd, but the rest of the officers as well.

She was wearing a large brimmed sunhat with dark sunglasses on. It reminded him of how his mother would dress when she was trying to go incognito. He would have thought that she may have been someone famous, if she had opted not to be drawing so much attention to herself.

 _No, she must just believe she is that important._

"Ma'am, please..."

"NO! You're telling me that I can't go home and won't tell me why. I deserve the answer!"

Her eyes surveyed the area darkly, glowering at the group where they were gathered.

The officers looked pleadingly to the inspector, who slowly nodded sympathetically as she pushed her way through.

He met her at the bottom of the stairs, trying to keep her from entering the crime scene. "And who are you, Ma'am?" he asked curtly.

"I'm Onishi Kahoru! Who do you think you are telling me that I can't go to my own home!"

"Onishi-san, there has been an attack on a young man at the apartments just up there, and as the inspector in charge of this, I have to ask that you please allow us to do our work."

She huffed, clearly not pleased with the answer that she was given. Inspector Megure placed his hand gently on her back as he began to guide her back to the police line. As she turned, she gave one last look down the alley and stopped in her tracks. Her eyes locked on Misaki, stopping her in her tracks.

"WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE!" Kahoru screamed, breaking away from the inspector and rushing towards where the children were protecting the formerly shocked woman. Instead of resting on the ground, she was now on her feet, defensively.

"I was invited here!" she replied, glaring at the woman coming towards her.

Both woman were face to face before anyone could move.

"How do you know each other?" inquired Conan, though he already knew based on the way they responded to when they saw one another. Instead, his question was to bring the Inspector and Mouri up to speed with what was transpiring.

"She," Kahoru began, finger pointed into the chest of Misaki with venom dripping in her words, "is MY boyfriend's ex, who won't leave him alone. She calls him regularly begging him to take her back. It's rather desperate, honestly."

"I already told you! I. Was. Invited. Here! I'm sorry if someone with your diminished intellectual capacity cannot comprehend the words of a simple conversation."

"What do you mean by that!"

"That you're an idiot!"

The children watched as the woman argued, though that was not what Conan was watching. His attention was back towards the apartment whose curtains had moved slightly before. This time he did see a person there. The figure looked feminine, though he could not be sure due to the lack of back light, though the look the person wore seemed to be worried. Or was it more agitation? Whatever emotion it was disappeared when she made eye contact with him, her figure quickly following.

Inspector Megure cleared his throat with a simple "ahem," drawing both woman's attention away from each other and towards him. Conan would have cowered if the glares of both woman were aimed at him at the same time the way they were towards the Inspector.

"Onishi-san, does that mean you live with Hironaka-san?" he asked, simply to make sure that the exact words were said for the police report that he would be drafting up.

"Yes...but why are you asking?" She finally looked up to see the apartment that she lived with taped off, surrounded by officers. "Did something happen to him? Did SHE do something to him? What is going on!"

Ma'am," Detective Takagi said gently, "perhaps you and I should talk over here." He gestured for her to walk before him further from the scene, to which she followed. Conan moved towards them, hoping that no one would notice.

"When did last see Hironaka-san?"

"About two hours ago. I left to go shopping and he said that he has someone coming over. I didn't realize it would be that tramp."

"Is there anyone that could verify that you were out shopping?"

"Besides the bags in my hands?"

Takagi flushed slightly. "Well, yes. Where you out with anyone? Do you have the receipts with the purchases so that we have a verified time for when you purchased the items?"

"Why are you asking me these things? You still haven't told me what happened. Where is Nobuo?"

Her voice had changed. The bitchy facade was melting into concern now that she realized that her boyfriend was involved.

"Hironaka-san was attacked within the last hour in your home. We are asking for your cooperation while we try and figure out what has happened to your boyfriend."

"I was out shopping. You can check with the stores. The staff should remember me."

"We take a list of the stores that you visited and have them find the credit receipts from the items in the bags. I hope you don't mind us making a list of those items as well."

"You can take an inventory of everything I bought, but it won't do much good. I paid in cash for everything. You will still need to rely on the store associates to remember me."

"Very well, ma'am."

"But Onishi-san, people make mistakes all the time. What if they don't remember you out of all the other customers they saw that day?" Conan asked, only to be greeted with Mouri's fist to the back of his head.

"Kid!" he yelled over Conan's whimpers of pain. "What have I told you about interfering with police investigations! The only reason you are being allowed to stay here with your friends is because you got here before us!"

"The bunch of you really are bad luck, you know that right?" Inspector Megure said gruffly, causing Conan to chuckle darkly. Despite that being the Inspectors opinions, he thought it was rather lucky that he tended to be at the crime scenes. If he wasn't, there would be far more murderers on the street.

He moved quickly out of Mouri's way before he could be struck again. One of these days the old man was bound to cause permanent damage. There was no reason for him to continue to be part of that conversation anyways; he got the answers he needed.

"Ma'am," the Inspector began, "may we see any keys that you have on you? The apartment was locked when we got here, and so far you and the landlady are the only ones that have keys."

"Then it's just the landlady you have to worry about; I left my key here."

Inspector Megure and Mouri exchanged a look with each other and Conan smiled. _Locked room case...this just keeps getting better and better._


	4. Chapter 4

Instead of going back towards those witnesses, Conan made his way towards the apartment of the person who kept looking out over the crime scene, but had yet to say anything about it. There were very few reasons to stay this quiet when there was so much commotion before them, and none of them were good for the investigation.

"Excuse me?" he asked, knocking gently on the door. Conan heard no movement from inside and decided he would try again, a little more forcefully. "Excuse me. I know you're home. I saw you watching before."

Within a few moments the occupant of the home was at the door. He had seen correctly through the window earlier. It was in fact a young woman who had been watching them. She had an expression that he was unable to read, but it was clear that she had no desire to be talking to him.

"Yes?" she asked, voice meek and softer than he was expecting. It was sweet; the type that one could listen to talk all day.

"Have you been home all day by any chance?"

"Yes, I have. And no, I didn't see what happened. Please leave me alone," she said before closing the door in his face.

 _Peculiar_. _..very peculiar._

He walked back down the steps to ask Misaki a few more questions now that no one was around.

"Kamiya-san? Do you know who lives in that apartment?" he asked politely.

"Mmmhmmm. That's Fujita Junko-san. She is Nobuo's neighbor, and from what I could tell, they were friendly with each other. The door right next to hers is Nobuo's."

"Thank you!" With that he was off to talk to Kahoru.

Conan ran up to her and tugged at her sleeve. "Ma'am, Can I use your bathroom?" he asked, doing a little dance to convince her that it was an emergency.

"That's a crime scene. Don't touch anything in there!"

"I know!"

He walked in and immediately turned to look at the lock. _How did the killer lock the door?_ There was a sticky residue on the lock, but there was no room under the door for a string to lock it. Across the apartment was the window that had been left open a bit. _Someone could have set a string up to run out the window to lock the door._ This theory would have worked, but there was no indentations or scratches to indicate that someone had pulled anything across the window frame.

Unable to come up with an answer right away, he decided to focus on the body. Nobuo had been laying on the ground, face down, as he was entering the room. He was a larger man; his height about 188cm. If one of those woman had done this, he would have easily been able to fight them off. How had they over powered him?

From his location, he could see that there were clean dishes next to the sink. Aside from a few plates, there was two glasses that looked to have moisture still on them. _Him and his guest had a drink? Or is this from before Kahoru left?_

He walked over the the closet that was slightly ajar, pulling his handkerchief from his pocket to be able to investigate. Within were numerous boxes stacked haphazardly, some taped closed badly. There was even a piece of tape that was just stuck on the outside of one the boxes. Other boxes were simply folded into themselves, still partially open. One contained both clothing and photos, but these were of Misaki and Nobuo. They were almost identical to the photos that were around the apartment already.

Behind the stack of Misaki's belongings were two hiking packs, one partially open. That's _where the rope came from._ Next to the packs was another piece of clear packing tape against the wall. Small fibers were embedded onto the tape.

 _Her story about coming seems to be true, but why would she ever want these photos back? Especially if she left him? And if he wasn't the type to commit, why would she want to remember the relationship? What was she leaving out?_

As he turned, a muted click sounded, followed by the curtain moving slightly again. With a perplexed look, Conan exited their home as Mouri and Detective Megure were approaching.

"I hope you didn't touch anything," Mouri said, pushing past him to investigate Nobuo's apartment, muttering under his breath something about how Conan could never not butt in on a potential crime scene, and that he was a snoopy little brat. _One of us has to make sure they know what's going on, you incompetent twit. Someday you'll be thanking me...someday..._

Conan moved away from the apartment towards his friends who were waiting eagerly for him. They had moved away from Misaki while she was being talked to by other officers.

"What did you find, Conan-kun?" Mitsuhiko asked quietly. "We can help. We WANT to help."

"Yeah, Conan, don't keep everything to yourself," Genta chimed in.

The four listened as Conan recounted his findings quickly.

"But why did the neighbor respond like that?" Haibara inquired, a puzzled look accompanying it.

"I was wondering the same thing..."

"We can ask Detective Takagi-san when he comes back out!" Ayumi chirped.

Conan stopped and looked at her. "Is he in there now?"

"Yeah. He went in before you came out."

Conan pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and wrote a fast not before running back to Fujita's door, the others behind him. He knocked urgently, and within a moments she answered the door. He sighed in relief.

"What do you want?" she snapped. "I'm busy!"

"Detective Takagi-san dropped this," he said, holding the paper out towards her.

"Okay, I'll give it to him. Hand it here."

"I don't know what it says, and it might be something that you shouldn't read either. Can we please come in give it back to him?"

The rest of the children nodded and asked joined in a choir of "please" from behind him.

"Fine," she relented, moving aside to allow them past her. He rushed to the detective, pushing the paper into his hands.

"This is yours, right?"

Detective Takagi opened the paper then nodded. "Thank you Conan-kun." He then directed his next words to Fujita, "Do you mind if the children stay for a few? If they're in here, then they can't be in the way of the crime scene outside."

Frustrated, though clearly not wanting to anger the officer, she nodded.

"Thank you. Now, as I was asking, where were you at 4PM today?"

"Home. I've been home all day."

"And you did not hear anything that happened, correct?"

"What was in that note you gave Takagi-san?" Haibara whispered into his ear.

"I asked him to let us stay and listen. He knows that we can be helpful."

Conan looked around the room while the questioning continued. It was standard practice to question anyone that could be a witness. For someone that was potentially friendly with the victim, she was being particularly cold.

The apartment seemed to be a mirror image of Nobuo's next door, included the location of the closet. He could hear the voices of Mouri and Detective Megure discussing the case next door. Her window was open slightly, rippling the curtains hanging, which were similar to the apartment next door. Similarly, there were photos around the room. Most were of the outdoors, though there was one that was laying face down on a small table next to her couch. It appeared to be of her when she was much younger, and there was a young man that looked to be Nobuo himself.

"Ma'am? Were you and Hironaka-san friends? This looks a lot like him in this photo."

"We were when we were younger. We went to the same schools and our parents would make us play. He was wonderful, but my family moved away and we lost touch. It was just by chance that we happened to end up neighbors now. We don't talk much now, though. It had just been too long."

There was a slight thud, and Conan felt a light breeze against him, though it wasn't from the window. It was similar to what he felt in the other apartment.

"Was he the one that moved next to you?"

"No, I actually called about a vacant apartment and was surprised that he lived here. He was already happy and dating Kamiya-san. I was just so happy to see him smiling again."

He looked again at the photos. There was one of the beach at sunset, and a forest with the sun shining bright and the shadows of clouds lightly across them.

"And these photos? Did you take the rest of them? They're really pretty."

"Yeah, I did. I really like to travel deep into nature and photograph the scenery."

 _No, there's not a single trace of hiking gear anywhere. If she liked to do nature photography then there should be something._

There was, however, what looked like brown cording that photos were pinned to lining the walls over her window. The photos were quite remarkable. It was a compilation of photos from each location. It started with a sunrise on the beach, and looked like a time lapse across numerous landscapes until it reached a sunset on a different beach. Enchanted by the photos, he drifted closer to them, noticing that a small portion of the cording was frayed.

He wandered into the bathroom,which was completely organization. Her toiletries were in order, and all bottles faced with their labels the same way. There was one labeled for muscle relaxers and another for anxiety. All and all, there was nothing too unusual about it.

Another light thud sounded, followed by another small gust of wind. Shortly after there was a knock at the door and Inspector Megure entered into Fujita's home. The door slid shut with a quiet, familiar noise.

The sound seemed to come from the closet of her home. Moving closer to the partially open door, he was surprised to see how clean it was. There was only a small amount of what he thought was hay on the ground near the wall. He followed it up to see a small hole drilled into the call.

Conan stopped then, stunned. _Could it really be this easy? Is that really what happened?_

With that thought, he ran once more outside. The landlady was standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking angrier than she was before.

"Ma'am, I have a question." he said, gesturing for her to lean down. He whispered in her ear, and after hearing what he had to say, she simply nodded.

 _I knew it!_

As the triumph of Conan's revelation washed over him, he didn't notice as he bumped into Detective Takagi.

"Conan-kun, is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Mouri-san asked me to have you get everyone together in Fujita-san's apartment. He said that he figured out who assaulted Hironaka-san. Also, can you bring..." Conan gestured for Detective Takagi to lean down so he could whisper what he needed.

"Mouri-san needs that?" he questioned. "I'll get everyone together and bring those things."

"Thank you!" And with that, Conan was off to get his friends.

"Guys, I need a favor," he said, pulling the four of them together to share his plan.

"Yeah, we can do that," Mitsuhiko responded, the others nodding in agreement before running off.

 _Well, here we go._


	5. Chapter 5

"Mouri-san, I got everyone together like you asked."

"Like I asked?" which would be the last thing that Mouri had a chance to say.

Conan moved behind the couch quickly and aimed his tranquilizer dart at Mouri's neck. The second it struck he swayed before collapsing into his standard position.

"Oh ho!" Inspector Megure exclaimed. "The Sleeping Kogoro! Then you really have figured out what happened. Please, let us know who is behind Hironaka-san's murder."

"It was a simple plan, and one that you firmly believed that you would get away with. Of course, this was without knowing that I would be involved.

"Let's start with the scene of the crime. Hironaka-san was found in his apartment, which was locked, strangled from one of the climbing ropes from the second hiking pack. Both Kamiya-san's and Onishi-san's fingerprints should be found on this rope. It would be easy for either one to frame the other by using the rope, since it was the same hiking pack they each used on trips with Hironaka-san.

"Normally, it is assumed that the first to find the body is the killer. This causes all fingers to be pointed at Kamiya-san..."

"I knew it!" Kahoru shouted, finger into Misaki's chest.

"I didn't do it! I swear I didn't do it!"

Conan cleared his throat as Mouri to draw the attention back to himself, quieting both woman. "Kamiya-san is right, she didn't do it."

"Are you saying that I did?" Kahoru said defensively.

"No, it was neither of you. It was Fujita-san's."

All eyes turned to the quiet Junko, who sat looking shocked. "Why, why would you say that, Mouri-san? Did you find my fingerprints on the rope that was used to hurt Nobuo?"

"No, there was only the the other two woman's fingerprints and skin cells found, but the killer still could have worn gloves. I would like to know how you knew about the arguments that Hironaka-san would have with both of these woman?"

"I could hear them. It wasn't as though they were being quiet."

"I had Conan-kun talk to the landlady. According to her, every apartment here is soundproofed. There is no way you could have heard them arguing."

"I had my window open a lot. They probably had their window open too and their voices carried."

"Can you explain why no other neighbors ever heard these arguments?"

"Maybe they kept their windows closed."

"This could be the case, but there is a simpler solution; a hole. Conan-kun, please explain."

"Okay," he replied to himself, coming around the couch where he had been hiding. He closed the window and draped a cloth over the table. As soon as that was set, he pulled Detective Boys badge out and called over to his friends. "Are you guys ready?"

"Yeah!" came three voices back.

Conan shut the window and said, "Go ahead and shut the door."

A soft thud sounded and the cloth fluttered gently.

Shocked eyes watched as another thud sounded and the cloth moved again.

"Okay, go ahead. Do it just like we talked about."

Suddenly Junko's apartment was filled with the sound of children laughing. Everyone looked shocked towards the closet door that was ajar.

Inspector Megure nodded for Detective Takagi to go and check the door. Inside, there was a makeshift amplifier made from a cone against the floor.

"This," Conan said using Mouri's voice once more, "is how you knew. You listened in on his conversations. You put a hole in the wall through the wall. You're fingerprints were found in his closet."

"Fine, I would listen in. That doesn't mean that I killed him."

"If anyone else had done this, you would have heard the commotion. You did say you were home all day."

"That doesn't mean I was paying attention. I was probably in a different area. Where's your hard proof that it was me?"

"Normally I would say that the hair we found would be enough..."

"But we've already established that I was in the closet. Of course my hair was there. Even if everything you've said is true, I still couldn't have done it. The room was locked. This is all the more reason that those two were probably the ones that did it."

"This brings us back to the hole in the closet. I found that there was a sticky substance on the lock in Hironaka-san's home. There was also packing tape in the closet on a box and against the hole in the wall. I thought at first that it was because of sloppy packing, but there was something missing.

"Then it came to me. Conan, you're help again please."

Conan again came out from behind the couch and walked to Detective Takagi. "Could you go and stand in the other apartment? I had Mitsukuni set up my experiment, and I just want you to verify that it works."

"Okay..."

Conan then ran over to the closet, pulled out his badge once more. "Genta, are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm passing it through now."

He leaned towards the wall and walked out with a piece of thick cord. Turning towards the room, he smiled and said, "Okay, everyone watch."

With a quick jerk of his wrist, he pulled the string towards him. At the same time, an audible click could be heard from the other room. He kept pulling until the cord was completely back in Junko's apartment.

Another click and moments later Detective Takagi was back in the room. "Inspector! The cord locked the room! The tape came off with it, leaving no trace after."

"Even so, that doesn't prove that _I_ did it," she said defensively. "Some one could be trying to set me up. Show me proof."

Conan was already back behind Mouri, and was waiting for this question. "The proof is on your wall, with pictures hanging from it."

The color drained from her face. _I've got you and you know it._

"Inspector, if you take a look at the rope holding those pictures up, you'll notice that one side had damage to it, most likely caused by the tape attached. I had one of the children have Detective Takagi remove a two pieces of packing tape from the closet with fibers attached. If you check. I am sure those fibers will match the cording that is hanging there."

Inspector Megure puffed his chest out and faced the officers. "Get that tape and rope analyzed right away."

"You don't have to," Junko said, defeated, "it's exactly how Mouri-san described it.

"He was my first love. It started when we were kids. When I found out that he was still in Tokyo, I knew I had to reconnect. I found the apartment next to his and waited for it to be vacant, but I waited too long. By the time I moved in, he was in a relationship. I _would_ hear them fight, and I knew he wasn't happy.

"Then they broke up, and I was there to console him. He would smile and it was just like we were young again. I thought he was going to ask me to dinner so that we could go out on the adventures, but he started seeing Onishi-san instead.

"Even though she lived with him, I knew he wasn't happy. All I wanted was for him to be happy, but he kept putting himself in these terrible relationships. I had to save him from himself. When I was young, I vowed I would do whatever I could to make sure he was happy, even if it caused me pain to do it. I just wanted him to be happy...

"So I went over to talk to him, and tell him how I felt. He laughed and told me he knew that I had always loved him, except he called me infatuated. I was so angry, and all I wanted was for him to be happy. If he wouldn't be happy with me in this life, then we could be happy in the next life.

"I went back home and grabbed my pills and crushed them up and put them in a bag. Then I took my dish gloves and went back over to his place. I told him that I just wanted to talk more. I offered to get us a couple of drinks from his fridge and poured the drugs into his. When he passed out, I got his rope out and strangled him."

"You," Misaki said, softly, "took away his chance of being happy. Even if he wasn't happy with me, or Onishi-san, he could have found someone that made him happy. It wasn't for you to decide what would make him happy."

Junko put her head down, and didn't bother to look back up as Inspector Megure put handcuffs on her and lead her from the building.

Conan met back up with his friends as the police were finishing the last of their business at the crime scene.

"Haibara," he said quietly, "can we have that conversation now?


	6. Chapter 6

"What do you need, Kudo-kun?" she said bluntly.

"Can we talk about the antidote?"

"You know I have been working on it. There is only so fast I can go in duplicating the original poison to create the antidote from. I know the temporary change isn't enough for you, nor would it be for me, but if I don't get it right, you may never be able to return to your original state."

"I know that. And I want you to do it as fast as possible."

"Yes, Kudo-kun, I'm well aware that you want me to hurry. You've been bugging me about it since you found out that I am the one that created it. And because of you, I have been able to make strides towards a permanent solution."

"Well, that's actually what I wanted to talk about. I want to be back in my body, and I want to be able to be with Ran, but you don't know how long it will take...and I want her to be able to be happy.

"It's not fair of me to keep being both Shinichi and Conan with her, not when I don't know when I will fully be myself again. She deserves more than just part of me, and I want her to have all of me. Someday I know I will have my body back, and I will fight to make her mine again, but I should let her find someone that can hold her now, not just talk about it with her. I feel like I should let her go..."

"Do you remember when Tsuburaya-kun started to show that he had a crush on me?" she asked, looking seriously at Conan.

"It was when we went to pick the mushrooms, and you both got lost looking for Genta, right?"

"Yes. He got paired with me and could barely talk. Each time he would look at me, he would turn red and be unable to speak. It was so hard to try and accomplish anything when he was inarticulate like that. All the same, it was the very epitome of puppy love.

"Then I got hurt, and he came through. He used the skills he learned from you and helped to bandage me up. He was honest that he learned it from you, and his respect for those that know better than him and his willingness to learn from you was incredible. I saw a maturity well beyond his age. In that moment, I knew that he would one day become a great man. I really liked seeing that in him. It is a quality that I would look for.

"And you've watched Yoshida-san have her crush on you for ages. It was hard watching her like you and her fruitless attempts to get you to return that affection. Think about what what she went through. She was pursuing something that would never come to be where nothing would come from it...'

"Of course nothing was going to come of it," he said defensively, but Haibara ignored it.

"The thing is, Kudo-kun, no matter they are still a children. Even if i liked everything he was, he is a child and I am an adult. It's the same reason that you didn't want Yoshida-san to have a crush on you. It wouldn't matter if when they grow older that they would be worthy of our emotional investment, they will always be children compared to us. There is nothing that will change those facts, even if we happen to be in the body of children right now. Our minds will always be that of adults no matter what form we are in.

"When they both get older, they will realize that us not returning their affections was a good thing, because they can find something new. Even if it causes pain now, they will grow from it and it will ultimately strain our relationships with them less in the long run."

"So...'" Conan said, trying to read the emotion that she was emanating, "you're saying I shouldn't be with her?"

Haibara's usual stern look melted a little, and he could see a glimpse of the teenage girl that she really was. "I can't tell you what you should do. I would want to have someone fully, whether I was her or you. This is something you need to figure out. I just wanted to help you see the whole picture so that you cold make your decision rationally."

She walked away, leaving him with those words. He stood there, looking at the ground, mulling over his thoughts.


	7. Chapter 7

Conan sat in his bed, knowing that Ran was not far from him in her own bed. Picking up his phone and putting it on silent, he knew what he had to do.

You have a new message from Shinichi

 _Hey Ran, I know you wanted to talk._

 _Shinichi! I've missed you. How is your new case_

 _going?_

 _Good. I actually just wrapped it up._

 _Does that mean that you're coming back soon?_

 _That's the thing, Ran. I have to be perfectly honest_

 _with you._ _I'm not coming back._

 _That's not funny. Seriously, when am I going to_

 _see you?_

 _Ran, I'm not kidding. I'm not coming back. You're not_

 _going to_ _see me._

 _That's going to make it hard to be with you then._

 _I don't want to be with you._

 _What are you saying? In London you told me that_

 _you cared._ _Why are_ _you saying this?_

 _I knew how you felt, and it made me feel guilty. I didn't want_

 _to hurt you, and I_ _knew how you felt. So I said what I knew_

 _you wanted to hear. That's it._

 _No, I don't believe you. You aren't that kind of_

 _guy._

 _Sorry, but it is who I am._

Conan heard a sob come from Ran's room, followed by another. "No," she cried aloud. His heart broke hearing that noise. All he wanted to do was text her and say it was all a cruel joke, and that he didn't mean what he was saying, but it would only hurt her more. This was for her own good, and this had to be just like a broken bone; the cleaner it was, the better it would heal.

 _You're terrible. This is all lies. You're not_ _serious._

 _Why are you_ _being so mean?_

 _The lie was how I felt for you. I just didn't want to hurt you._

 _Well, I guess you failed._

 _Ran, this is going to be the last time I talk to you._

 _No...please don't do this._

 _I'm sorry._

 _If you're sorry, then don't do this._

 _You're killing me. This is too much for me. I have things I have_

 _to focus on, and_ _focusing on you is draining me. I'm done_

 _Shinichi...you can't do this_

He set his phone down, still hearing her sob from the other room. Quietly she was still repeating, "no" to herself.

Then his phone rang, showing her name. He ignored it.

 _Please, please answer me. Shinichi...I_ _need you._

His phone rang again. Then again. Each time, his heart broke a little more. Each time, her cries would become louder. Mouri was passed out drunk in his office, not hearing his daughter in pain.

 _Shinichi...I love you._

 _Goodbye Ran._

With a shaking hand, placed her number on a "do not disturb" list, wiping a tear from his own eye. He laid his head onto his pillow and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the pained sobs of the woman he loved.

* * *

It's not happy, but life isn't always happy. I hope this story was enjoyed, and thank you for reading it.


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